The EU has finally hammered Apple into enabling NFC access to third-party payment apps, allowing for contactless payments to be enabled by apps other than Apple Pay. Apple has until July 25 to implement changes that allow mobile wallet developers to offer NFC payment features in the EU.
The announcement comes as the European Commission accepts Apple’s commitment to open access to tap-and-go payment features. Developers will also be able to access other key iOS features, including double-clicking to launch an app, Face ID, Touch ID, and passcodes for authentication, in addition to being able to set a third-party app as their default wallet app.
An investigation by the Commission revealed that “Apple abused its dominant position by refusing to supply the NFC input on iOS to competing mobile wallet developers.” This refusal excluded Apple Pay’s rivals from the market, leading to “less innovation and choice for iPhone mobile wallet users.” To be specific, the Commission pointed out that such behaviour may breach Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position.
Apple’s commitments are supposed to be in force for ten years and will be applied through the EEA (European Economic Area). All iOS users with an Apple ID registered in the EEA will also be able to use the feature when travelling temporarily outside the EEA. Their implementation will be monitored by a monitoring trustee appointed by Apple, who will report to the Commission for the same time period.
This announcement is the result of a four-year investigation that started back in June 2020 following a number of complaints to the bloc’s competition division. While the investigation was previously focused on Apple Pay entirely, it later filtered down to specific features that Apple kept from third-party developers, reserving them for its in-house apps instead.
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